CHANEL CHUGS FULL STEAM AHEAD

Chanel has no intention of planning a sale or an initial public offering according to an article that appeared on WWD. On the contrary, the storied French luxury brand plans to continue investing heavily across all areas, from omnichannel services to new staff to raw materials, fueled by last year’s strong performance. Revenues stood at $11.12 billion in 2018, up 10.5 percent at comparable rates versus the previous year. The rumors of a sale escalated after the death in February of Karl Lagerfeld, its longtime creative director. According to WWD, Chanel has a solid management in place to remain independent. Chanel registered an operating profit of nearly $3 billion last year, up 8 percent from the previous year with sales in Asia-Pacific up 19.9 percent at comparable exchange rates to $4.73 billion, doing better than Europe, where revenues were up 7.8 percent to $4.28 billion, according to WWD. Sales in the Americas rose 7.4 percent to $2.1 billion, with Chanel reopening its flagship on New York City’s 57th Street after a two-year make over. The company employed 25,295 people at the end of 2018, up 13.5 percent against 2017, with hefty new hires in its retail network, as it opens or renovates an average of 30 boutiques per year.